July 4 shooting suspect bought guns legally despite threats

A member of the FBI's evidence response team removes an American flag one day after a mass shooting in downtown Highland Park, Ill., Tuesday, July 5, 2022. A shooter fired on an Independence Day parade from a rooftop spraying the crowd with gunshots initially mistaken for fireworks before hundreds of panicked revelers of all ages fled in terror. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

The man charged with killing seven people when he unleashed a hail of bullets on an Independence Day parade from a rooftop in suburban Chicago legally bought the high-powered rifle used in the shooting and four other weapons, despite threatening violence, police said.

Robert E. Crimo III was charged with seven counts of murder Tuesday in the shooting that sent hundreds of marchers, parents and children fleeing in fear and set off an hourslong manhunt in and around Highland Park, an affluent community on the shores of Lake Michigan. Investigators have yet to identify a motive.

Prosecutors have promised to seek dozens more charges, and Crimo is expected to make his first court appearance on Wednesday. His attorney said he intends to enter a not guilty plea to all charges.